The alert was designed to automatically bring the ship to battle-ready status when a pre-programmed set of circumstances occurred (for instance, an impact to the hull, or an order from the captain). When a tactical alert was initiated, the hull plating was polarized, the weapons were automatically charged, and critical systems such as the warp core were secured. In addition, all crewmembers would report to battle stations upon initiation of the alert. The tactical alert was initially accompanied by a loud, grating klaxon, which aggravated CaptainJonathan Archer and CommanderTucker, who felt it sounded like "a bag full of cats." The klaxon was not retained in future uses of the alert. While in the process of naming the new condition, the terms "security protocol" and "condition red" were suggested. The term "Reed alert" was sarcastically suggested by Commander Tucker as the name for the new tactical alert system Reed was working on, but was later dismissed by Lieutenant Reed as being "a bit narcissistic," whereas security protocol was deemed "not very dynamic." (ENT: "Singularity")

It was also an alert status aboard Klingon Defense Force ships to indicate approaching hostile vessels. It was used on the IKS Rotarran during their mission to find and rescue the IKS B'Moth battle cruiser when the Rotarran's sensors detected a Jem'Hadar warship approaching their position near the Cardassian border (DS9: "Soldiers of the Empire").